Walmart Foundation gives $100K to Food Bank of Alaska

Posted: Wednesday, November 03, 2010

The Walmart Foundation donated $100,000 to Food Bank of Alaska on Monday as part of the Associate Choice Program, an online campaign where Walmart employees voted for a nonprofit to receive funding in their home state. A press release states the grant will help the Food Bank of Alaska purchase food to serve the 55 communities it works with in the state.

In the release, Food Bank of Alaska executive director Susannah Morgan said, "Food Bank of Alaska counts on our partners like Walmart to assist us in finding as much food as possible. There are 74,000 Alaskans who count on us to provide food assistance, especially during the winter months."

The release states the six-week voting program awarded $5 million in grants to statewide organizations across the country. Of those funds, $3.6 million are supporting hunger relief organizations based on votes from company associates. It states Walmart has recently announced a $2 billion commitment to help end hunger in America and through the "Fighting Hunger Together" initiative, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will give $250 million in grants to hunger relief organizations and donate more than 1.1 billion pounds of food from Walmart stores, distribution centers and Sam's Club locations, valued at $1.75 billion.

"As a company, we operate globally but look for opportunities to give back locally," said Marlene Munsell, Walmart Market Manager for Alaska. "We're pleased that Walmart associates chose to support Food Bank of Alaska."